It's funny how our conscious works. There's three levels: the conscious, everything you are currently thinking and feeling and aware that you are thinking and feeling. Then there's the semiconscious, feelings and thoughts that you are only partially aware of. And lastly, the unconscious. Feelings and thoughts you have that you aren't aware of at all. The things our minds allow us to feel and think and experience are odd things. The way you can feel happy but be struggling with deep seated childhood issues at the same time puzzles many. Imagine your last thoughts before you drift off to sleep, or the last scent you are aware of that greets your nose or the last sound that reverberates in your eardrums. Often, they are frivolous thoughts, smells and sounds. Nothing particularly striking or worth remembering. When your semiconscious seeps into your brain during your sleep, however, it can be unsettling. Callie twisted in bed, unable to shake the image of Lauren and Arizona together from her unconscious mind.

The cacophonous racket of the alarm clock roused the two women sleeping soundly in the bed. Arizona sat up, stifling a yawn. The digital red letters on the alarm clock to her left read 5:00 AM. That gave herself and Callie one hour to get both themselves and Sofia ready. One hour was sufficient time for them, however. Callie groaned, her hand smacking the button to turn off the incessant beeping noise the alarm clock was emitting, glad to be pulled from the nightmare she had been having. She sat up, stretching her arms out behind her back, twisting around to make the bones in her back pop. Her groggy eyes met Arizona's and she gave her a halfhearted, sleepy grin. Callie forced the bitter feelings that were welling up in her semiconscious down, not willing to let them surface in her conscious and ruin the progress that she and Arizona had made the night before. She padded sleepily to the kitchen to prepare a pot of coffee.

Arizona swung her one good leg over the edge of the bed, hastily attaching her prosthetic before joining Callie in the kitchen for early morning coffee and a bagel or pastry. A sort of awkwardness hung heavy in the air between them, holding their tongues and confusing their brains, leaving both of them unsure of what to do or say. Arizona sugared her coffee, pondering what to say, how to break the tension between them.

"So I'm going to go into work a little late so I can stop at the phone store and get my number changed. I'll call Hunt and let him know. Do you want me to bring Sofia in with me or do you want to bring her?"

"Yeah, you can bring Sofia to daycare this morning. I'll talk to Hunt about not hiring Lauren when I get to work. Text me when you get your new number?"

Arizona nodded, smiling reassuringly. She planted a kiss on Callie's cheek on her way to Sofia's bedroom. Callie smiled at Arizona's kiss, finishing her coffee and placing the cup gently in the sink. She dressed, listening to Arizona chatting with Sofia in the next room, smiling to herself. No matter how much Arizona may not have wanted a child and no matter how badly she may mess up, she was always great with Sofia and a wonderful mother, no matter the state of their relationship or how chaotic things at work may be. It was one of Arizona's best characteristics, in Callie's opinion. She finished dressing and throwing her hair up into a quick ponytail and stepped into the room, beaming at the sight of Arizona happily bouncing Sofia in her arms and Sofia shrieking with joy and laughter.

"Hey, I'm leaving for work now. Call or text me when you get your new number."

She stepped towards her wife and her daughter, kissing Sofia's head and ruffling up her thick, dark hair. She brushed her lips against Arizona's once quickly and then turned, making her way out of their apartment. Arizona sat Sofia in front of the tv, setting her down with a bowl of cheerios and flipping on the early morning cartoons to occupy her daughter while she got ready for the day. She was soon ready and lifted Sofia into her arms, carrying her dutifully out to the car and fastening her into her seat. Dark clouds were beginning to loom overhead and she could see ominous flashes of brilliant lightning in the distance. She started the car, driving carefully once raindrops began to fall and splatter on her windshield. They quickly increased in force, reaching a downpour of torrential proportions in just minutes. There was still a good ten minutes until she reached the store and Arizona was used to driving in the moody Seattle weather but something about it today gave her a bad feeling in her gut.

The trees outside of the car swayed scarily, their branches swishing and their foliage ripping off and blowing past Arizona's car in the wind. Sofia was beginning to cry in the backseat from the booming of thunder and bright flashes of lightning that followed. Her face was red and splotchy. Arizona spoke calmly to her, not looking back to give her a comforting smile. She didn't dare take her eyes off of the road. Suddenly, lightning crackled a few feet from the car, striking a large tree and sending it crashing to the ground. Arizona saw what was going to happen, her pulse quickening with adrenaline as she jerked the steering wheel to the side in an attempt to swerve off of the road. Her actions were futile as the large tree came down on the windshield of the car with a tremendous smack, it's towering branches smashing through the windshield and sending shards of glass flying. The bulk of it crushed the hood of the car. The air bag in the drivers seat billowed out a fraction of a second too late as Arizona's body flew forward, her skull connecting with the steering column, her seat belt snapping her back as the air bag exploded into life, preventing another collision.

The hazard lights on the car flashed. Drops of chilly water pattered Arizona's skin, keeping her conscious for a few more moments. They mixed with the blood that dripped from her head, diluting it. She raised a weak hand to her head, gathering the blood in her fingers and smearing it between them confusedly. Her cell phone lit up and vibrated in the cup holder. Her ears didn't appear to be working properly. There was a piercing, blood curdling scream from somewhere but it sounded distant and distorted, as if she was hearing it underwater. For a moment, her disoriented brain thought it was her own screaming but she realized no sound was coming from her mouth. Her last thought before she lost consciousness was just a simple name. Sofia.

It's funny how the conscious works.

Author's Note: A much shorter chapter this time but next chapter will be deliciously long, I promise! Thank you again for reading. :)